Bus Center blog
Guides for anyone running a coach company: the electronic route sheet, the tachograph and drivers' paperwork, the fleet and its expiry dates, and day-to-day services. The rules, with their source; the software, with what it does and what it doesn't.
Electronic route sheetWhich buses need a route sheet in Spain and which are exempt
Every public passenger transport bus in Spain carries a route sheet except in two cases tied to regular services, and each needs two conditions at once. Which services always carry one, why it is decided by service and not by customer, and how Bus Center handles it.
· 7 min read
Services and businessVAT on road passenger transport in Spain
Passenger transport and luggage carry the reduced 10% rate under the Spanish VAT Law. What falls under that rate, how an international trip is taxed, when the special travel agency scheme applies, and how a service becomes an invoice in Bus Center.
· 5 min read
Tachograph and driversDownloading the vehicle tachograph in Spain: deadlines and the company card
The tachograph unit must be downloaded at most every 90 days and the data kept for at least twelve months. What the European regulation and the Spanish order say, how the company card is requested and how Bus Center records the downloads of each coach.
· 6 min read
Services and businessSchool transport requirements in Spain
What Spanish rules require of school and minors' transport: when they apply, authorisation and insurance, coach age and requirements, escort, driver, stops, journey length and the route sheet, and how these services are handled in Bus Center.
· 7 min read
Electronic route sheetRoute sheet data in Spain: what to include and where it comes from
What data the route sheet must show under the Spanish order that governs it, when intermediate stops or the reinforced service are added, where each item comes from in the office, and what Bus Center does if one is missing or changes after issue.
· 7 min read
Electronic route sheetThe route sheet QR: what the rules require of the code and the link
The route sheet QR sits inside the PDF and leads to a unique address that must download the document directly, with no password or buttons, and not expire before the service ends. Requirement by requirement, what it means in practice and how Bus Center meets it.
· 6 min read
Electronic route sheetThe route sheet on the driver's mobile: how and when to carry it
The driver's copy of the route sheet can be electronic, on a mobile, or on paper, and either way it must carry the QR. When it is handed over, what is shown at a check, why handwritten notes do not count, how a new version reaches the driver and how they see it in the Bus Center portal.
· 6 min read
Tachograph and driversRenewing the tachograph driver card
The driver card is valid for five years at most and is renewed at least 15 working days before it expires. Deadlines under the European regulation and the Spanish order, where to apply in Spain, what to do if it expires, is lost or is stolen, and each card's date in Bus Center.
· 6 min read
Tachograph and driversRenewing the D licence for bus drivers in Spain: deadlines and procedure
The D licence is valid for five years until age 65 and three from then on. What the General Drivers Regulation says, how it is renewed according to the DGT, what happens if it expires, why it goes with the CAP and how Bus Center tracks each driver's licence date.
· 6 min read
Tachograph and driversRenewing the CAP for bus drivers in Spain
The CAP is renewed with a 35-hour continuing training course every five years. What Royal Decree 284/2021 says, how the course is organised, when the new validity starts, what happens if the CAP expires and how the date is tracked in Bus Center.
· 5 min read
Services and businessProfitability per coach: which coach makes money
Which coach makes money: income minus costs per coach and per period, why it is not calculated by service, what happens to services with no amount, the cross-check with what was invoiced and how Bus Center measures quote conversion without inventing matches.
· 5 min read
Fleet and maintenancePreventive maintenance for buses and coaches: by date and by kilometres
A preventive maintenance plan for a coach fleet watches two clocks, the calendar and the odometer, using the intervals the manufacturer sets. What to record for each intervention, how Bus Center's alert at 5,000 km works and each coach's history.
· 5 min read
Electronic route sheetPenalty for not carrying a route sheet in Spain: what the current LOTT says
Not carrying the route sheet, or carrying it without essential data, is a serious infringement of the LOTT, with a fine of €401 to €600. What situations the law covers, how the penalty is graded, what happens to paper since the electronic sheet, and how to avoid it from the office.
· 6 min read
Services and businessOrganised coach trips in Spain: selling seats without overselling
How to organise the sale of seats on a coach trip without overselling, what the LOTT and its regulation say about contracting by seat, when a trip is a package trip and how Bus Center manages seats, bookings and free seats.
· 6 min read
Electronic route sheetModifying a route sheet that has already been issued: the two valid methods
If a detail on an issued route sheet changes during the service, it is modified by one of the two methods the resolution allows. What happens to the QR in each, what must be kept, why crossing out the paper does not count and how Bus Center does it.
· 6 min read
Electronic route sheetHow long to keep the route sheet in Spain: the file and the link
The route sheet has two time limits that are best not mixed up: the file is kept for at least one year and the download link may be deactivated seven days after the service. What happens to earlier versions and to cancelled sheets, and how Bus Center handles it.
· 6 min read
Tachograph and driversGeolocating drivers in Spain: what the law says
A company may geolocate its employees for employment monitoring, informing them first and using a proportionate system. What the LOPDGDD and the AEPD guide say about vehicles and phones, and why Bus Center asks for location only when reporting an incident.
· 6 min read
Fleet and maintenanceFleet and driver expiry date tracking, in a single list
Coach ITV, insurance, maintenance and documents; the driver's licence, CAP and tachograph card; and the tachograph download deadlines. What is worth watching, why a single list works and how the Bus Center dashboard gathers it, with its limits.
· 5 min read
Electronic route sheetThe electronic route sheet in Spain: what it is, since when and how it is issued
The route sheet for public passenger transport in Spain can no longer be on paper. What the DeCA is, which rule requires it, what the PDF and its link must meet, who issues it, what the driver carries and how Bus Center issues it from the service.
· 8 min read
Tachograph and driversDriver expenses on the road: collecting receipts without losing any
How to collect the driver's diesel, toll and parking receipts without losing or duplicating any, how the office accepts or rejects them with a reason, and how each approved expense goes into its coach's cost in Bus Center.
· 5 min read
Tachograph and driversDownloading the driver card: how often and how
The driver card is downloaded every 28 days at most and the file is kept for at least a year. What the European regulation and the Spanish order say, who is responsible for the download and how Bus Center logs .DDD downloads so none goes overdue.
· 7 min read
Services and businessDiscretionary passenger transport in Spain: what it is and what it requires
Discretionary passenger transport is carried out with no pre-established itinerary, calendar or timetable. Its definition in the LOTT, how it differs from regular transport, the public passenger transport by bus authorisation, the digital route sheet and how it is handled in Bus Center.
· 6 min read
Fleet and maintenanceCompulsory passenger insurance in Spain: what it covers and who takes it out
Compulsory passenger insurance compensates anyone who suffers bodily harm in an accident during a journey on collective public transport. What it covers under its regulation, whom it protects, the operator's obligations and how to monitor policy dates in Bus Center.
· 6 min read
Services and businessCoach hire quote: the items not to forget
A coach service quote comes from adding up what it really costs: kilometres, including empty ones, driver hours, tolls, overnight stays and coach costs. Which items to check, how to follow each quote and why three weddings on the same Saturday do not block the coach.
· 5 min read
Fleet and maintenanceCoach fleet fuel tracking: consumption and cost per kilometre
From the litres, cost and odometer reading of each refuel you get every coach's cost per kilometre and consumption, by week, month, quarter or year. How they are calculated, what happens to the receipts the driver sends in, and why a spreadsheet falls short.
· 5 min read
Services and businessCoach and driver scheduling without overlaps
Assigning a coach and a driver to each service without anyone being in two places at once: what blocks and what does not, how to treat services with no time, no return or lasting several days, what is needed for a service to count as planned, and why Bus Center does not calculate driving times.
· 5 min read
Fleet and maintenanceBus ITV inspection in Spain: how often and how not to miss it
In Spain, buses have their ITV every year until they are five years old and every six months after that. How age is counted, the 30-day rule for bringing it forward, what the station checks in addition on a bus and how Bus Center watches the date.
· 5 min read
Tachograph and driversBus driver incident report
What to do and what to record when a coach driver has a breakdown, an accident or a delay: safety first, then a short report with a photo. How it reaches the office in Bus Center, who decides and why location is optional.
· 5 min read
Tachograph and driversDriving and rest times for bus and coach drivers
The driving, break and rest limits that apply to bus drivers, with the reforms that brought specific rules for occasional passenger services, what falls to the company and how to plan with them. Bus Center does not calculate these times.
· 7 min read
Tachograph and driversBus driver app: what drivers need on their phone
What a coach driver needs on their phone and how the Bus Center driver portal covers it: a web page with nothing to install, showing their next service, the route, the route sheet, expenses with photos even without signal, documents and incidents. And what it does not do.
· 5 min read
